(08-19-2024, 11:36 PM)SkenfromLMF Wrote: 1 I would like to think that Grimes will fill holes at SG/SF and really focus Naji as the backup 4 with success.
2 My REAL hope is that DJJ absolutely craters in LA and they want to move off his contract
sufficiently to willingly take a Powell, Lawson, Hardy package (might have to be Exum for hard cap purposes) .
3 Not sure a DFS for Powell/Maxi is a positive step, but I would at least give it some consideration if Maxi really is cooked. To that end I really want Maxi to NOT play the 4 much at all.
4 With all that said, please don't make me wish we could get Grant Williams back.
I like these thoughts, even if I don't quite see these issues exactly the same way.
If Naji can play well at the 4, and if Grimes magically reverts to form after an incredibly bad showing last season, then yep it all looks good on filling the various backup needs. But I also fear those are really big if's.
I have the same wish as you, on an eventual trade for DJJ. I do think it's possible that LAC will wish they had Naji (better O, worse D) instead of DJJ, and the Mavs may wish they had the opposite, just due to their overall rosters. But such a trade this season would be unlikely UNLESS they decide to move someone with a meatier contract (like Naji) - when doing a 3-for-1 or the like, the hard cap gets in the way of a salary match since you'd end up having to refill the empty slots without room under the apron to do so.
And while I like the idea of getting DJJ back, I'm not eager to go there yet. With this Mavs roster as it exists, I don't think there are minutes for DJJ as well as Naji/Grimes (so it's probably a Naji-DJJ swap). Before we consider that, I want to see what we have in Naji. It's possible we may find ourselves better off with Naji (depending on what value Naji offers in the 2-way category, and as a backup 4). DJJ's (lack of) being a real threat on offense limited his playability and effectiveness, and he was way better when used as a 3 who can guard 1's and 2's also at an elite and disruptive level, but he was not nearly as effective when he was the 4.
Oh, and the idea of GW makes me gag, even as a last resort, emergency idea (or even as a throwaway line). Been there, done that. It was not a fun ride. The PTSD lingers.